Warwick hotel plan gets another forum with potential neighbors

WARWICK, R.I. — A developer proposing to build a waterfront hotel in the city’s Apponaug section reiterated his commitment to the location this week, saying Warwick is a prime spot for lodging.

By BARBARA POLICHETTI

WARWICK — A developer proposing to build a waterfront hotel in the city’s Apponaug section reiterated his commitment to the location this week, saying Warwick is a prime spot for lodging.

Raymond D’Abate, executive vice president of Apponaug Water Development LLC, also fielded questions and concerns from neighbors Wednesday as his company held its second public forum on its roughly $20-million project unveiled in July.

The corporation is hoping to build a turreted, 127-room, New England-style hotel on a low-lying site just east of Apponaug center.

D’Abate sought to assure neighbors that the six-story hotel, to be built on a 5-acre parcel on Station Street off West Shore Road, will fit unobtrusively into the landscape.

It will have a shingle-style exterior with adornments such as porches and turrets and coastal plantings intended to create year-round color will be placed around the property, he said.

D’Abate emphasized that the property is in a hollow and its lower elevation means that only the rooftop of the hotel will be visible over the grove of trees that separates it from some nearby homes that also front on Apponaug Cove.

“We want to make sure we are good neighbors,” D’Abate said, adding that the exterior lighting will be designed to limit “light pollution.” Also, exterior features such as outdoor seating in a courtyard will be kept surrounded on all sides by the building to prevent noise complaints, he said.

More than 40 people showed up to question the impact of the project and raise concerns about traffic and other issues.

Some, like Derek Anderson, vice president of the Apponaug Area Improvement Association, showed up to speak in favor of the development, which is in an area that is zoned for industrial uses.

Neighbors expressed concern that the driveway into the property is a sharp turn off West Shore Road right after a railroad trestle that limits visibility.

D’Abate said that the two driveways do have the required visibility but to address local concerns one of the driveways will be designated an entrance and the other an exit.

He also noted that the state’s reconfiguration of the roads in downtown Apponaug is expected to reduce traffic in the area from a current count of more than 25,000 cars per day to about 5,000.

Some residents remained unhappy with the proposal of a hotel, with some expressing skepticism that it could succeed tucked away in Apponaug.

D’Abate said the developers are confident they have picked a great spot with Warwick’s hotel occupancy rates exceeding the state average and studies indicating that demand for lodging in the area will grow — partly due to the proximity of T.F. Green Airport.

The Wyndham hotel chain already has signed on as the franchiser, he said, and “it’s waterfront.”

The project needs master plan approval from the city’s Planning Department and a zoning change from the City Council to convert it to general business use from an industrial zone.

Some aspects of the project also will need approval of the state Coastal Resources Management Council, and D’Abate said his company has been working with that agency to make sure it complies with regulations to protect the coast.